Big loss, then big win for Mustangs

CENTER POINT -- Dennis Roloff received the unfortunate, but not unexpected, news via text on the bus. Then he shared it with his team upon arrival.It was official. Hannah Whitley -- one of Mount Vernon's best athletes, one of its best rebounders -- was a casualty of a torn ACL and is lost for the season."We thought that might be the case," said backup post Gabby Kolker. "It's a big loss. It makes the rest of us need to step up and contribute more."The Class 3A third-ranked Mustangs responded to that "big loss" with a big, big win, 52-47, over No. 6 Center Point-Urbana in a Wamac Conference girls basketball game Tuesday night at Center Point-Urbana High School.Whitley's injury isn't the first for Mount Vernon. Alli Platte suffered an ACL tear of her own several months ago, but should be back after Christmas. Kolker is dealing with a pinched muscle in her back.Yet, the Mustangs (2-0 overall, 2-0 Wamac) are rolling with it and pushing on. Eight different players scored; Miranda Chapman and Laura Deininger scored 12 points apiece, Kolker and Libby Ryan added eight each.And despite a definitive size disadvantage, they outrebounded the Stormin' Pointers (1-1, 1-1), 34-29."It's such a big part of the game," Kolker said. "They were bigger than us, but we were able to box them out and get them out of there."Roloff said, "It's something we work on 10-15 minutes a night. Rebounding is boring, but it wins games. We really blocked them out tonight."The first three quarters were punch-and-counterpunch, with neither team establishing a lead of more than five points. CPU took its largest lead at 14-9 late in the first quarter, then Mount Vernon took the lead for good at 38-36 on Ryan's 3-pointer with 2:35 left in the third.It was 42-40 when the Mustangs gained some separation. Chapman's 3-pointer made it 45-40, then Abbey Teubel's only basket of the game gave the Mustangs the third of three seven-point leads at 47-40.The Stormin' Pointers were 5 of 10 from beyond the arc in the first half, then missed their first 11 after intermission."We got stagnant offensively," said CPU Coach Philip Klett. "We got stuck trying to hammer it inside, then when we did shoot from outside, we didn't have any rebounders. We've got to try to find the right shot at the right time."Sophomore Arika Wooldridge, a likely future Division-I recruit, led the host team with 17 points and nine rebounds. Kennedy Salow added 11 points.Mount Vernon is at Western Dubuque on Friday; CPU hosts Solon. 

MOUNT VERNON 52,

CENTER POINT-URBANA 47

At Center Point

MOUNT VERNON (52): Miranda Chapman 3-10 5-11 12, Laura Deininger 4-9 2-2 12, Madison Ebel 2-3 0-0 4, Libby Ryan 3-11 0-0 8, Kaitlyn Volesky 1-3 0-0 2, Gabby Kolker 4-6 0-1 8, Abbey Teubel 1-2 1-2 3, Annie See 0-0 0-0 0, McKayla Hartl 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 8-16 52.

CENTER POINT-URBANA (47): Shelby Brecht 2-6 1-2 6, Emily Kramer 2-6 0-0 5, Arika Wooldridge 6-13 4-6 17, Kennedy Salow 4-12 2-2 11, Brittany Buelow 2-3 0-0 6, Payton Hasleiet 1-5 0-0 2, Madeline Roseke 0-0 0-0 0, Rachael Sackett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 7-10 47.

Halftime: CPU 28, Mount Vernon 25.

3-point goals: Mount Vernon 6-18 (Chapman 1-6, Deininger 2-5, Ryan 2-6, Kroeger 1-1), CPU 6-22 (Brecht 1-5, Kramer 1-3, Wooldridge 1-4, Salow 1-2, Buelow 2-3, Hasleiet 0-4, Sackett 0-1).

Team fouls: Mount Vernon 12, CPU 17.

Fouled out: Salow.

Rebounds: Mount Vernon 34 (Deininger 8), CPU 29 (Wooldridge 9).

 Assists: Mount Vernon 10 (Chapman 4), CPU 12 (Brecht 3).

Steals: Mount Vernon 6 (six with 1), CPU 9 (Kramer 4).

Turnovers: Mount Vernon 12, CPU 10.